Chapter 20

It felt strange to be skipping my mythology class but also relieving at the same time. I sent a message to one of my classmates, asking if they could fill me in on what they discussed in class since I didn’t want to fall behind.

I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell Addie or Sel about my conversation with Cass or the mind-blowing shower sex. Last night, I was so relaxed and satiated that I ended up falling asleep early, and today had been a busy day for all of us. Sel had left directly from her last class to go home for her little sister’s soccer game, and tonight was Addie’s monthly plans, as we jokingly called it.

So here I was, alone in my dorm once again.

At first, I was doing fine. I had the TV on as I folded laundry and cleaned the bathroom, but as the night wore on, I became anxious. The thought of spending the night trapped here alone had me feeling like a caged animal. I didn’t feel safe either, which was something I’d never felt in my room with the door locked. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shake this feeling. It just kept building and building until it was all I could think about. My flight instincts were going haywire, screaming at me to flee.

I know I promised Cass I wouldn’t leave my dorm, but I couldn’t stay in there a second longer. I made a compromise and headed to the lounge on my floor. Technically, he said I should stay in my dorm, which I did.

Since I was on an all-girl floor, I didn’t bother to put on a bra or even shoes.

By coming out here, I was hoping the feeling would go away, but it didn’t. The feeling only grew worse as the insidious feeling of being watched returned with a vengeance. It felt like someone was breathing down my neck, but every time I turned around, no one was there.

This happened multiple times until eventually, I glanced over my shoulder—expecting no one to be there like the other times—and found Ezra standing behind me, his hands resting on the back of the sofa as he leaned toward me.

I went to scream, but it died in my throat as two things happened at once. First, I was nearly choked by the strength of his cologne, which fogged my mind. And at the same time, dozens of thoughts filled my head at once, telling me I needed to leave this building with Ezra.

I was distantly aware of Ezra saying, “See? He doesn’t care about you: he left you all alone tonight.”

My thoughts tried to break through the haze, as did my fear and anger toward him—at the fact he’d shown up here, which wasn’t an accident—but it wasn’t enough. Somehow, he walked around the couch without me noticing and hauled me to my feet. It was surprising my legs held me up with how numb my limbs felt.

He dragged me across the lounge, and I followed him without complaint, almost like my body was on autopilot. My arms struggled to respond to my commands, and every time I managed to move, trying to shake off his hand, either his scent would grow in intensity until it felt like it burnt my nose or a piercing shriek would fill my head. With how numb my body felt, I was barely able to feel Ezra’s hold on my arm or the cool concrete beneath my bare feet as he pulled me into the stairwell.

He pulled me into his arms, and my head slumped against his chest as he carried me down the stairs. I must’ve been pretty out of it because the next thing I knew, the cold night air was raising goosebumps on my skin, and sending shivers down my body.

The chilly, fresh air helped me break through the fog filling my head, and I began struggling against him. My hits and kicks were feeble, with my limbs still feeling like they didn’t completely belong to me. I shoved at his chest, but I must’ve been weaker than I thought since it barely affected him.

When I opened my mouth to scream, despite no one else being out, he slammed his lips against mine. It felt wrong. His strangely cold lips felt uncomfortable against mine. The kiss did nothing for me as his lips furiously moved against me even though I didn’t respond, my lips frozen and mashed together. Unwelcome thoughts about how he was such a good kisser filled my head, but my body remained unresponsive, and my resolve to get away strengthened as all the fog faded completely.

I raked my nails down his cheek, and he jerked back with a growl. I’d managed to draw blood, but all I really did was piss him off. “Stop fighting this. You want me as much as I want you. I know it.”

Rather than telling him to fuck himself or waste time telling him how delusional he was, I screamed. I knew I only had one shot, so I made it count. Even when a piercing ringing filled my head, I continued screaming. I only stopped when his hand clamped over my mouth and muffled the sound, but even then, I hadn’t stopped fighting. I had no clue what his plans were, and I’d rather not find out.

He easily managed to evade all of my hits and kicks as he continued carrying me down the sidewalk at an outrageously fast pace. It felt like the world was blurring around us and made me a bit dizzy. Was this a result of the ringing and haze that had descended over me, or was it something else?

Out of nowhere, Ezra darted to the side so fast that I nearly got whiplash. A few seconds later, he did the same thing.

What the fuck was going on?

“Stay here,” Ezra said as he set me on my feet.

Yeah fucking right. There was no way in hell I’d wait around and allow him to follow through with his plans to kidnap me.

I was about to run away when I caught sight of Sheriff Michaels. Relief had my body sagging until Ezra moved so fast he was a blur. I blinked, my body frozen in place as I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This wasn’t possible. I know I had the theory he had powers, but not this.

Derek was unfazed, so either I was imagining the speed, or nothing fazed Derek. He didn’t pull out his gun like I thought he would, but instead, he pulled out a taser in one hand and a dagger in the other, neither of which instilled confidence in me. Ezra dodged the taser and rammed into Derek, lifting him by his throat.

I knew I should do something, either run or help Derek, but my body was rooted in place.

Even with Ezra’s unbelievable feat of strength holding him aloft by his throat, Derek remained calm as he zapped Ezra with his taser. Ezra’s body stiffened, but he didn’t let him go, not until Derek slashed out with the dagger, getting him in the arm.

I expected Ezra to cuss, maybe drop Derek, which he did, but I hadn’t expected him to growl as the sound of sizzling filled the air, reminding me of the noise I’d heard when I pepper-sprayed my attacker weeks ago.

Derek didn’t waste any time, he lunged and lashed out again. Ezra moved at the last second to avoid getting stabbed, but he hadn’t avoided getting cut, and once again, sizzling filled the air, and I was able to smell burnt skin. None of this made any sense.

Ezra backhanded Derek and sent him flying. Upon seeing him getting hurt, my body unfroze, and I took off across the grass, only instead of leaving, I was racing toward Derek. He saved me from Ezra, the least I could do was return the favor.

Derek climbed to his feet, rubbing his jaw as Ezra blurred toward him. One moment, Ezra was over fifteen feet away, headed toward Derek, and the next, he was pulling me to a stop and yanking me into his arms once again.

I screamed again, calling him every swear word in the book as I struggled against his unyielding hold. If I lived through this, I knew I’d be covered in bruises from how tightly he held me. This may sound crazy, but I was beginning to wonder if he was even human. The strength and speed he displayed was unparalleled. And my suspicion about him being able to plant things in my mind was all but confirmed by the way it put me into a haze earlier.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Derek racing toward us, pulling a familiar canister from his belt. As he approached, I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side, holding my breath. More sizzling filled the air, paired with Ezra’s screams, as Derek sprayed him in the face with pepper spray.

I fell to the ground, and my back smarted from the sudden impact, but I ignored the pain as Derek hauled me to my feet. A gasp ripped from my mouth as I found Ezra covering his face, but that wasn’t what had my stomach turning. It was his reddened neck that appeared burnt, making me wonder what his face looked like. Was that from the pepper spray? I glanced down at my arm where some of the spray had gotten me, but all I found was smooth, unmarred skin. His reaction didn’t make any sense, but then again, none of this did.

Derek didn’t waste any time, he grabbed my hand and pulled me along beside him as we took off. I wasn’t as coordinated as usual, but I managed to keep up, only tripping twice but managing to get my footing before I fell. I had a feeling Derek could’ve run faster but was keeping his pace slower so I could keep up without eating shit. My bare feet were getting shredded by the concrete sidewalks, but I didn’t let that slow me down. I’d deal with the pain when I was safe and far away from Ezra.

My thoughts were racing and too chaotic for me to stay on one subject for too long. A big part of me hoped this was some horrible nightmare and I’d wake up in bed, but based on the pain in my feet and body, I wasn’t liking my odds.

Derek led us to a nearby parking lot where his cruiser was haphazardly parked. If I wasn’t out of breath, I would’ve sighed in relief that we wouldn’t have to run much further. With how fast Ezra could move, I didn’t like our chances of outrunning him on foot.

After all but tossing me in the passenger seat, Derek ran around to the driver’s side and took off without bothering to put on his seatbelt. His tires squealed in protest as he pulled out of the parking lot. He didn’t turn on his sirens as he sped through town way past the speed limit. My hands shook as I struggled to put on my seatbelt. It was always the way: whenever you were shaken up or angry, your car’s seat belt would be a little bitch.

I didn’t let my guard down, not until the lights from town vanished as we drove down a two-lane highway. “Are you alright?” Derek finally asked, glancing over at me, his body riddled with tension and his knuckles white from his tight hold on the steering wheel.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, my voice hoarse from screaming. My mind was full of so many questions that I felt a headache coming on, but that could’ve also been due to the shrill sounds that had filled my head earlier.

“What the fuck is going on? What the fuck happened to his face?” I finally managed to ask after several more long minutes of silence. Derek pursed his lips as indecision filled his expression. “Please tell me I’m not going crazy.”

“You’re not,” he said, releasing a long breath. He gave me a sidelong glance, gauging my reaction as I turned in my seat to face him. “Are you sure you want to hear this now? You were just attacked for the second time within a month. It might be best for you to wait to hear about this.”

I shook my head before he could finish speaking, letting him know waiting wasn’t an option. He let out another long breath as he adjusted his hold on the steering wheel. “The man that attacked you tonight was a vampire.”